ANET360’s New Safe Motorway Driving Course

By Ferenc Boroczky - 11.11.2020 - Product Update

This year, FrancisKodak collaborated with Transformotion to create the course. It was a great collaboration and our special thanks to James Tillyer and the team in helping create what we feel is a tremendous safe motorway program. Below is an outline of what to expect on the course.

Improving driver recall

The safe motorway driver course begins by outlining differences between motorways and other roads. The course aims to improve driver awareness and highlight common misunderstandings. To do that, we use a group exercise that helps drivers to recognise the 160 different road signs in the Highway Code. Drivers can often recall information better when it’s shared with others in a discussion format.

Better learning experiences

One of the really exciting and innovative parts of this course is the 360-degree immersive experience, where drivers get the chance to use a virtual reality (VR) headset and be ‘in the cab’. They can look around, check mirrors, read the road, and monitor traffic volume and speed within the comfort of the classroom and without the added insurance risk!

Research suggests short bursts of virtual reality can improve concentration. Combining this tool with instructor guidance provides a better learning experience. We use VR 360-degree immersive experiences in a number of different scenarios.

"VR gives us the power to scale and make learning more dynamic and engaging. A relatively small VR device can even act as a whole science lab.” – Adobe

Other elements of the course include:

1. Speed limits and hazard perception: speed limits depend on vehicle type and weight. This is crucial information for people who drive different vehicles each week. Connected to speed limits is hazard perception. Without the ability to predict traffic problems, the driver is exposed to added risk.
2. Navigate roadworks: roadworks are common on motorways and they present some unique challenges for drivers of large vehicles. Reduced lane space, tighter traffic, reduced speed, contraflows, additional instructions, and less obvious entry and exit points require extra concentration.
3. Driver control: for drivers leaving the motorway, using the correct procedure while maintaining safe control over the vehicle requires being aware of other drivers weaving, undertaking, or cutting across to make an exit. The course includes safe strategies to use in these situations.
4. Prepare for the impact of weather: understanding how different weather conditions impact driving on the motorway is crucial to road safety. We look at the effect of snow, ice, fog, wind, and rain on the manoeuvrability of the vehicle, particularly under braking, as well as the impact of bright sunshine when the sun is low in the sky and it’s difficult to see the traffic ahead.
   
5. Continental driving: continental driving may not be relevant for all, but there are key differences between UK motorways and continental highways. This part of the course picks out the basics of driving in Europe and shares resources that drivers can access when they need to.
   

Virtual reality, actual on the road scenarios, regulatory driving knowledge, and so much more. Building on from the Safe Urban Driving course, this program takes things up several notches to equip professional drivers with key skills and knowledge to be better drivers on the UK’s motorways and high speed roads. We look forward to seeing you and your team on the course soon!

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